Zagat goes free with launch of Google+ Local — Since Google bought Zagat last September for a reported $151 million, the company hasn't done much with Zagat's local content. That changes today with the rollout of Google+ Local, which incorporates Zagat scores and summaries into its listings …

Apple Store now selling Nest Learning Thermostat for $249.95 — It turns out the rumors were true: Apple has begun selling the Nest Learning Thermostat in its online store for $249.95. It's the second large retail expansion for Nest in the past 24 hours, with the company announcing Canadian availability …

Beneath contempt: The Apple TV business model … Tim Cook at D10 1:45. — I note the “our” in “our year”. This implies fiscal year (that and the fact that he spoke in the past tense before six months had passed in the calendar year.) — Given the public information we have so far …

Skype's present is secure, its future is not — It has been over six months since Microsoft officially became an owner of Skype, one of the biggest communication services in the world. The company has been growing quietly, thanks to its “Skype everywhere” strategy.

Mary Meeker Explains the Mobile Monetization Challenge — Looming over the Internet industry is the mismatch between the growth in mobile usage and mobile monetization. — Most recently, it was the risk factor that helped take down Facebook's ill-fated IPO roadshow, when the company warned …

Wasting Time Is New Divide in Digital Era — In the 1990s, the term “digital divide” emerged to describe technology's haves and have-nots. It inspired many efforts to get the latest computing tools into the hands of all Americans, particularly low-income families. — Those efforts have indeed shrunk the divide.

Netflix agrees to delete data on ex-customers — Turns out that nobody has to know about that copy of Bad Girls of Red Light District 6: The Extended Cut you rented from Netflix just over a year ago. — U.S. District Court papers filed Friday revealed greater detail as to how Netflix settled …

Sweep the Sleaze — Promising to make you look wired and magically promote your content in social networks, the Like, Retweet, and +1 buttons occupy a good spot on pretty much every page of the World Wide Web. Because of this, almost every major site and world brand is providing free advertising for Twitter and Facebook.

Top that, cable! Verizon offers 300 Mbps home broadband — Bored with your 100 Mbps connection? Verizon plans to offer customers up to 300 Mbps down via its FiOS fiber service next month. That's double Verizon's current top speed of 150 Mbps down and a slam against cable companies trying to compete with Big Red.

Facebook's Cognitive Dissonance with Sharing — Two philosophies — One of Facebook's core philosophies is that a user's privacy is paramount. Part of that privacy is the data you create by browsing Facebook is never shown to other users. You'll never see a newsfeed story that says, “Joe viewed your profile 1,024 times.”

Google: Search Activity Rising Following Revamp — Google said it has seen a noticeable increase in activity on its vaunted Web-search in the two weeks since the company began one of the biggest search transformations in its history. — People doing Web searches now see a big box …

Badgeville raises $25M, shows gamification has legs — While skeptics still scoff at the term gamification, Badgeville keeps gaining the trust of big companies and investors, who believe in its power. Badgeville announced Wednesday it raised $25 million in a round led by Interwest Partners …

Microsoft rolls out Office 365 for Government — Summary: Microsoft has added a multi-tenant version of Office 365 for government users to its hosted app line-up. — As Microsoft officials hinted back in March, the company has rolled out a public-cloud Office 365 offering for U.S. government customers.

Photosynth for Windows Phone (finally) released — Long anticipated, the Photosynth for Windows Phone app has finally made it to the Windows Phone Marketplace, and is available for download now. The app, which has been available on iOS for more than a year, has been rumored to be coming …

How Twitter Beat Facebook At Its Own Story — On the day Facebook went public, all eyes were on its biggest competitor. Those hazy months when the IPO was just a rumor, the giddy days and hours before the market opened, the hilariously chaotic trading period, the ensuing backlash …